Norwegian Pay Talks Register Achievements, Negotiations to Continue

The arm-wrestling between Norwegian unions on an early retirement scheme did not end up in a strike on the continental shelf, with one union settling and the other considering an agreement. 

‘Into extra time, on 18 June, mediator Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen presented a proposed solution which was accepted by the Norwegian Organisation of Managers and Executives and Norwegian Oil and Gas. Safe, for its part, was given until 12.00 on Friday 27 July to consider the proposal,’ reads a note published by the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association.  

The Safe (Norwegian Union of Energy Workers) and Lederne (Norwegian Organisation for Managers and Executives) unions and the industry body Norwegian Oil & Gas (Norog) have been negotiating a pay pact for weeks. Safe and Lederne were the only two unions that did not agree on the early retirement scheme before today, while Norwegian Oil and Gas and the Industry Energy union agreed a revision of the offshore agreements.

Despite the achievement, the negotiating process did not come to an end. The next step in the pay talks sees an imminent deadline. 

‘Mediation on the supply base agreement has been scheduled for Thursday 19 June and Friday 20 June. The deadline for reaching agreement is 24.00 on the Friday.’